Monday, March 27, 2006

Swift Boat Veterans for Plagiarism

When I pointed out, not too long ago, that whole portions of a column I wrote were flat-out ripped off by Jerome Corsi, co-author of the best-selling Swift Boat veterans book against John Kerry, his WorldNetDaily.com editor, Joseph Farah, refused to do a damn thing (but add a tiny link to my column--Big Deal).

Some conservatives told me to "take one for the team." Huh? I don't think so. (Since then, I've been told by several conservative writers that this is not the first time that WND and/or Farah have condoned--and engaged in--plagiarism.) Since Corsi has a Ph.D. and has written more than one book, how much of those are also plagiarized. People don't become plagiarists in their old age.

Farah, a plagiarist? I guess his brain was simply not large enough to create the crazy stuff he and his cronies come up with over at Whirrled Nut Daily.

Thursday, March 16, 2006

Frontpage Reprints Apparently Bogus Anti-Muslim Piece

Down on the bottom right, sort of "below the fold," they have run an op-ed piece entitled 'Do You Love America?' by Captain John Maniscalo, American Airlines Pilot.

I've been trying to say this since 9-11 but you worry me. I wish you didn't. I wish when I walked down the streets of this country that I love, that your color and culture still blended with the beautiful human landscape we enjoy in this country. But you don't blend in anymore. I notice you, and it worries me. ... How do I differentiate between the true Arab/Muslim-Americans and the Arab/Muslims in our communities who are attending our schools, enjoying our parks, and living in OUR communities under the protection of OUR constitution, while they plot the next attack that will slaughter these same good neighbors and children?

And on and on it goes: misinformation, oversimplication and outright paranoia - mean tripe that's par for the course over at Frontpage.

But what makes this so amusing is that it's not only old "news" - first appearing in 2002, some say - but that it's apparently bogus as well.

According to Snopes.com, this piece's veracity cannot be determined. American Airlines does have a pilot by that name, but the article first turned up as a letter to the editor in the Gazette of Hyatsville, MD - written by a Kevin Daly.

However, as they point out, who's to say that Mr. Daly didn't see Captain John's letter and submit a less vitriolic version to the paper? it wouldn't be the first time someone C&Ped something they liked and passed it off as their own opinion.

(The letter in question is no longer archived at the Gazette. However, A Skeptical Blog did a comparisson of the two letters. They also lay blame for the changing on a particular site, but I'll leave my readers to decide for themselves what's up, there.)

Meanwhile, Break The Chain did a little more homework. Though they don't mention the Daly letter, they did get a response from American Airlines.

Michelle Simmons, customer relations representative for America Airlines, told BreakTheChain.org that they are investigating the matter, but have not yet found the letter's source.

"We are currently investigating whether this is an Internet hoax. We do have a pilot with the same name working for American Airlines who has indicated that he did not write this message. Regardless, let us assure you that the comments expressed in this article do not, in any way, represent the views of American Airlines.

"On September 12th, our Chairman issued a statement to all American employees specifically stating that we would not tolerate hate of any kind at our Company. That statement remains true today."

If only Frontpage would adhere to a similar code of conduct. But, as I pointed out not long ago, it seems to be their stock in trade, guaranteeing that whatever relevant things they might have to say will be lost in the mud.

Meanwhile, we'll just have to chalk this up to the usual level of journalistic "eksellance" we've come to expect from Frontpage, where they're not only apparently too cheap to hire enough fact-checkers for David Horowitz, but too cheap to commission entirely new Islamophobic screeds, and having to pick them up off the internet, instead.

The news comes on the heels of the U.S. Department of States 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, released Wednesday; the report documents continued, systematic abuses of the Falun Gong in China.

Information about the camp was relayed via audio recording from a former intelligence agent of the Chinese government. It is the first time news of the secret camps existence was disclosed to outsiders. The camp is said to hold over 6,000 Falun Gong adherents at any given time, and nobody has yet come out from it alive.

According to the source, it contains a crematorium, and an unusually large number of doctors work there reflecting the camps practice of killing prisoners for their organs, which are then sold for profit.

The source tried to convey the horror of what is happening in the concentration camp: Why was a crematorium built, and why are so many doctors housed there? & The answer is something unimaginable. You must be clear that a cremator for bodies is different than a burner used for sanitation purposes.

Located in the Sujiatun district of Shenyang city, the camp, dubbed the Sujiatun Concentration Camp, is surrounded by walls three meters high topped with electrified barbed wire. It is heavily fortified and said to be highly secret; locals know close to nothing about it. Those held inside are Falun Gong adherents from China’s three northeastern provinces as well as central China; many are said to have been transferred there from various labor camps. CCP authorities involved with the camp have learned many things from North Korea, according to the source.

This is deeply, terribly disturbing, and confirms our worst fears: that CCP authorities remain intent on eradicating Falun Gong, and in their desperation will go to any lengths,stated EFGIC spokesperson Mr. Gerald O’Connor. We need to be clear that the persecution has not gone away it has merely become darker and more hidden.

The Chinese government source spoke at length about the unlawful harvesting of organs in the Sujiatun facility. If Falun Dafa practitioners are sent to Sujiatun, he said, they have no chance of coming out - The CCP won’t let a prisoner consume food forever. So what are they up to, then? - the Falun Dafa practitioners are killed for their organs, which are sent off to various medical facilities. Organ sales is now a highly profitable business in China...

So let me see if I get this straight... the fact that the UAE's banking system is so sloppy, plus some wildly innacurate info, means that the UAE is a terrorist nation, but China can do something like this and still maintain their Most Favored Nation Status?